How to Keep Your Wi-Fi Safe While Traveling

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Ah, the portability of a laptop or tablet. Take it with you as
you sprawl on a resort lounge chair or perch at an airport gate
this summer.

But before you get too relaxed, beware. Lurking on that
public Wi-Fi network you're using might be identity thieves
and account hackers who are waiting to pounce on your
information.

“If you are logged in and it’s not secure, pretty much everything
that travels over the air is vulnerable,” said Chris DePuy, vice
president at the Dell’Oro Group, a market research firm in
Redwood City, Calif.

There’s a lot more traveling over the air these days. Wi-Fi usage
among the public is booming, making it more
of an opportunity for hackers. The first quarter of 2012
showed a triplefold increase in Wi-Fi usage from the first
quarter of 2011 for AT&T Wireless, DePuy said.

Yet, while the volume of usage has multiplied, “the security
measures that public hotspots use hasn’t seen any change,” said
Hemant Chaskar, vice president of technology and innovation at
AirTight Networks, which offers WLAN security solutions in
Mountain View, Calif.

Wi-Fi security experts say while there’s little need for outright
paranoia, it’s always prudent to be aware of the scams that are
possible.

“Consumers should take reasonable precautions when using an
unsecured Wi-Fi hotspot, much as they would also guard their
personal belongings, but there is no reason to stop using Wi-Fi
in hotspots,” said Kelly Davis-Felner, spokesperson at the Wi-Fi
Alliance, an Austin, Texas-based industry group.

The security landmines for users occur because anyone with a
laptop can pose as a hotspot, DePuy said. Hackers and
identity pirates can create a fake SSID, the public name of a
wireless network.

A fraudulent SSID such as "Free Airport Wi-Fi" will be enough to
fool many users into typing in online-account passwords and
usernames.

The bad guys can then see the sites the user is visiting and
their login credentials as well. Since many, if not most, people
reuse passwords for different sites, including accessing
email, the risk of identity theft rises, say experts.

One of the most practical things a traveler can do to protect
data is to refrain from sending sensitive data over the airwaves
while using public Wi-Fi. In other words, visiting personal
health care or financial sites are no-no’s.

When you're in an airport, DePuy advised, look for signs
advertising the Wi-Fi service of a known company, rather than
tapping into a generically named “airport hotspot."

To be sure of safety, a user could also pay for a
secure Wi-Fi service like Boingo or iPass, DePuy said. Other
options are using a smartphone's "tethering" feature to get
online, which can add to wireless bills, or, with some
configuring, "tunneling" through an insecure hotspot using
a secure VPN, or virtual private network.

There are also new versions of protocols that will increase
security measures, Davis-Felner said.

“The current form of Wi-Fi security,
WPA2, is very sophisticated,” she said. “Ensuring that your
transmissions are encrypted with this method is the best
protection a user can take for both current and future threats.”

In the end, security issues with hackers are a “cat-and-mouse
game,” Chaskar said. While hackers are definitely getting more
sophisticated, “technology is more sophisticated as well, to keep
one step ahead.”